1.Role of Single Port Rigid Thoracoscopy in Undiagnosed Pleural Effusion
Jagdish RAWAT ; Anil KUMAR ; Parul MRIGPURI ; Dev Singh JANGPANGI ; Abhay Pratap SINGH ; Ritisha BHATT
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2024;87(2):194-199
Background:
In recent years, medical thoracoscopy has been well established to play an important role in undiagnosed pleural effusion; however, this procedure is underutilized due to limited availability of the instruments it requires. This study analysed the outcome of single port rigid thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions.
Methods:
This study retrospectively analysed the outcomes of all patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion presenting to our centre between 2016 to 2020 who underwent single port rigid medical thoracoscopy as a diagnostic procedure.
Results:
In total, 92 patients underwent single port rigid medical thoracoscopy. The most common presenting symptom was shortness of breath. A majority of the patients had lymphocytic exudative pleural effusion. The average biopsy sample size was 18 mm, and no major complication was reported in any of the patients.
Conclusion
Single port rigid thoracoscopy is a safe and well-tolerated procedure that yields a biopsy of a larger size with high diagnostic yield. Moreover, the low cost of the instruments required by this procedure makes it particularly suited for use in developing countries.